I often toy with the idea of doing a series here about foods every cook should be able to make at the drop of a hat. I can't tell you how many times I've had to whip up something fabulous in a hurry, and a lot of the basic recipes I've accumulated and the skills I've learned over the years have been godsends to me in those moments.

One of the things I believe about cooking is that there are no absolute rules. There is only the cook in her kitchen, cooking the foods she likes in the way she likes to cook them. There is much ado about the "best" recipe for a specific dish or the right way to do something. I call hooey on that. Cooking is personal. One person's "best" recipe for something may not appeal to someone else.

The recipe I'm giving you today is my favorite scone recipe. The way I like to make them. This is by no means the only good scone recipe out there. However, I like to think it is very good. It's a recipe I've changed little by little over the years. It makes scones that are tender and moist, barely sweet, and a little crusty around the edges.

I make this scone throughout the year with all different kinds of fruit. I've used strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, peaches, pears, and more. Feel free to take this recipe and use it with any good, ripe fruit in its season. If the fruit is very juicy and soft, freeze it first, and mix it into the dough without thawing. Add in citrus zests, chopped dark chocolate, candied ginger, spices, or really whatever you want.

This, like the shortbread cookies I recently posted, is one of those beautifully versatile recipes that I love and keep coming back to over and over. It's a good one for your recipe file.

You can use either all heavy cream, all buttermilk, or whole milk (or a milk substitute like coconut milk or almond milk). If you don't use buttermilk, though, just omit the baking soda. The only reason I use half heavy cream and half buttermilk is because I like to get the richness from the cream and the tang from the buttermilk. There's no reason why you can't substitute something else, though.

Joy of Cooking App for iPad and iPhone

After three years of collaborative effort with our friends at Culinate and Scribner, it is our pleasure to introduce the Joy of Cooking for iPad and iPhone! Please check out this full-featured, digital version of the 2006 edition. In addition to the recipes and indispensable reference information our readers know and love, the app has many features that are brand new to JOY: